«We find no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end»

James Hutton
(Edinburgh, 1726 – 1797)

James Hutton is the father of modern geology. His work “The Theory of the Earth” (1788) proposed that Earth was a dynamic, ever-changing system and first introduced the concept of deep time. Hutton came to understand that Earth had to be millions of years old, far beyond the human timescale. That was a revolutionary idea that changed geology forever. 

We now know that Earth is 4.6 billion years old.

4.6 (billions of years)

Origin of Earth

4.4 B

First solid crust

The oldest rock fragments in the world are zircons dating back 4.4 billion years.

3.8 B

Microscopic life

First traces of life with carbon molecules and formation of stromatolites.

2.5 B

Atmospheric oxygenation

Cyanobacteria altered the habitability of the planet.

1.5 B

Multicellular life

The first time organisms came together to form red and green algae.

550 M

First animals

For the first time, life produces “large” and complex soft-bodied organisms. This is the big bang of evolution.

250 M

Pangaea

All the continents formed a single supercontinent.

100 M

Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs were the kings of the Jurassic and Cretaceous worlds.

3 M

Earliest Homo species

The earliest ancestors of humans appeared in Africa.